INTEGRITY PACT FOR FREE, FAIR AND DEMOCRATIC ELECTIONS IN BULGARIA
On April, 4, 2013 will be signed Integrity Pact for Free, Fair and Democratic Election in Bulgaria. The document is elaborated by 8 non-governmental organizations which will conduct independent civil monitoring of the forthcoming parliamentary elections.
The main objective of the Pact is to commit the political parties to the conduct of election campaigns in accordance to the standards for transparency and accountability, and to the implementation of measures preventing violations of the citizens’ voting rights.
By taking part in the initiative, the political parties commit:
To nominate for members of the Precinct Electoral Commissions candidates with experience in the organization of the electoral process, professional preparation, high personal moral and reputation;
To increase the competence of its representatives to the electoral commissions by conducting additional training with regard to the rules of the electoral process;
To carry out information campaigns against vote-buying, controlled vote and the negative effects on the voters’ rights, and the democratic process in the country;
To ensure public access to information about the number of proxy representatives, by making it available on their websites;
To ensure greater transparency of their elections campaign financing by providing timely information to the National Audit Office, with regard to received donations throughout the campaign;
To assist the independent observers – representatives of the Civil Coalition for Monitoring of the Electoral Process in their efforts to monitor the campaign financing and Election Day developments.
The non-governmental organizations commit:
To conduct independent civil monitoring of the electoral process in accordance to the internationally established standards;
To observe the principles of political impartiality, transparency and integrity in the monitoring process;
To carry out information campaign among the Bulgarian citizens with regard to their participation of the electoral process, institutional responsibilities, and negative effects of vote-buying and controlled-vote;
To inform the Bulgarian public and European institutions about the results of the conducted monitoring
To formulate proposal for amendments in the legislation and the practice of the Bulgarian institutions, aiming to enhance transparency and integrity in the Elections to the European Parliament, as well as to offer its expertise to the responsible institutions.
For further information, please, contact Transparency International – Bulgaria (coordinator of the initiative): Sofia 1000, ул. “Bistritsa” № 3, fl. 4, Tel.: 02/ 986 77 13, 986 79 20, Fax: 986 78 34, e-mail: mbox@transparency.bg, www.transparency.bg